Azerbaijan should give up inciting tension on contact line - diplomat

Following Azerbaijan's recent violation of ceasefire on the Contact Line, resulting in the death of an Armenian farmer, Armenia's permanent representative to the United Nations, Karen Nazaryan, has sent a letter to the UN Secretary General.

It comes after a recent statement issued by an Azerbaijani representative to the UN.

According to the press service of the Armenian Foreign Ministry, the Armenian diplomat has criticized Azerbaijan's disinformation campaign.

"Instead of such attempts, Azerbaijan should give up the practice of inciting tension on the Contact Line, as that poses threat to security and stability in the region. These acts are in gross violation of the 1994 ceasefire accord signed between Azerbaijan, Nagorno Karabakh and Armenia," read the letter.

The Armenian diplomat also urges Azerbaijan to withdraw its snipers from the Contact Line, respecting the calls of the UN secretary general and the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group.

A 33-year old Armenian farmer was shot dead by an Azerbaijani sniper on the Contact Line on May 11, a day before the ceasefire anniversary.

The Nagorno Karabakh conflict started in the early 1990s when Karabakhi Armenians voiced their intention to live independently from Azerbaijan. It was followed by pogroms against Armenians in Sumgait, Baku and Nagorno Karabakh that turned into a bloody war, leaving around 30,000 killed and more than a million displaced.
Currently peace talks over the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement are spearheaded by the co-chair states of the OSCE Minsk Group – Russia, France and the United States.